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July 28, 2013
Weather 30 percent chance of showers after 1 p.m. High near 67.
The
Serving DeKalb County since 1871
Page B8 Auburn, Indiana
GOOD MORNING Fort Wayne man arrested in man’s fatal beating FORT WAYNE (AP) — A Fort Wayne man has been arrested on charges alleging that he pummeled another man to death after knocking him unconscious. Twenty-eight-year-old Steven L. Lemler was arrested Friday on a preliminary involuntary manslaughter charge. He’s being held at the Allen County Jail on a $10,000 bond. Court documents say Lemler attacked and knocked out 42-year-old Kirk D. Lecount on July 17 because he believed Lecount had insulted a woman drinking with them and others in a backyard. Witnesses told police that after another person placed the unconscious man in a recliner chair Lemler punched Lecount in the face up to three more times and hit him in the head with a cooler. An autopsy found that Lecount died from blunt-force injuries to the head.
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Murder suspect back in U.S. Mahfuz Huq, wanted for ’89 Steuben murder, returns from India BY MIKE MARTURELLO mmarturello@kpcmedia.com
ANGOLA — A man on the run from Steuben County authorities for more than two decades is back on Indiana soil after he was returned to the United States Saturday. Murder suspect Mahfuz Huq was returned to Indiana this afternoon by FBI authorities, said a news release from Steuben County Sheriff Tim Troyer. Huq was wanted for the Aug. 9, 1989, murder of Todd Kelley, 19, of
Hamilton. “I’m happy for the family that they’ll finally get their day in court,” Troyer said. Saturday at approximately 12:40 p.m. Huq, in the custody of federal Huq agents, arrived at the Indianapolis International Airport. Huq was returned to the U.S. from New Dehli, where he was in custody at
the Tihar Prison system pending extradition. He was arrested in New Dehli Feb. 13, 2011. Huq was taken into custody by Marion County Indiana Sheriff’s Deputies from federal authorities upon landing in Indianapolis on a Steuben Superior Court warrant of murder at the request of Troyer. Huq was taken to the Marion County Sheriff’s Department medical holding facility pending a routine examination by staff. “Due to Mr. Huq’s unknown medical care background while housed in a foreign prison system, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office is best equipped and staffed to take temporary custody of Mr. Huq for observations prior to his return to
Summer Free Lunch Program
Info •
AARON ORGAN
From left, sisters Jasmine, 8, Valerie, 4, and Bella Martinez, 2, collect free lunches at the West Edge Mobile Home Park in Auburn. Summer
food service programs feed hundreds of children during summer months, when school lunches are not served.
School’s closed — lunch is open BY AARON ORGAN aorgan@kpcmedia.com
For a child, summer brings freedom from the rigors of the school year, endless hours of splashing at the community pool and miles of peddling a bicycle. For some families, though, summer also brings about fear of how they’ll pull together a meal for a child who generally is served at
school. Enter summer food programs. The Summer Food Service Program for Children was launched in Indiana in 1975, created to serve children in the summer months when school meals are not traditionally available. More recently, a push was made to reignite the program to reach more children in need of balanced and nutritious meals.
SEE HUQ, PAGE A8
Troops abroad remain legacies of war
Ind. sheriff suspends 3 deputies in probe COLUMBUS (AP) — A central Indiana sheriff has suspended three deputies for what he calls “errors in judgment” during an investigation into the death of a man married to the ex-wife of one of the officers. Bartholomew County Sheriff Mark Gorbett said Friday that Sgt. Dean Johnson, then-Detective Christie Nunemaker and Deputy E. DeWayne Janes violated department procedures, failed to correctly manage the death scene and properly preserve evidence. The deputies investigated the April 7 death of Cary Owsley, who died at home of a gunshot wound to the chest. Owsley was married to Deputy Janes’ ex-wife, but despite that conflict Janes entered the death scene and helped remove Owsley’s body.
the Steuben County Jail,” Troyer said. “Once Mr. Huq is cleared by medical staff, he will be returned to the Steuben County Jail.” Should Huq clear his medical exams without issue, Troyer expects him to be returned to Steuben County this week. Prior to his arrest Kelley in 2011, Huq had been unaccounted for since the day of the 1989 murder, which was discovered by Kelley’s girlfriend, Christine Mutzfeld. Court documents said Kelley’s body was in the front room
Today, schools with 50 percent or more of their students eligible for free or reduced-price meals qualify for the summer food service program. Children ages 1-18 can eat lunches at no charge through the program. In the counties of northeast Indiana, programs at local school districts serve hundreds of children each weekday. SEE FOOD SERVICE, PAGE A8
WASHINGTON (AP) — A truce stopped the fighting in Korea that once threatened to spread into a world war whose outcome might have been decided by nuclear weapons. Sixty years later, the costs of the Korean War continue to mount even amid relative peace. Hostility lingers between the North and South and between the North and the United States, which still has no formal diplomatic relations with the communist nation in spite of the war’s end on July 27, 1953. That ongoing antagonism is rooted in the U.S. commitment to take a leading role in assisting the South should war break out again on the Korean Peninsula. Washington has tried for years to wean its ally off its dependence on the U.S. military by setting a target date for switching from American to Korean control of the forces that would defend the country in the event North Korea again attacked the South. That target date has slipped from 2012 to 2015 and, just this past week, American officials said the Koreans are informally expressing interest in pushing it back still further. SEE LEGACIES, PAGE A8
The Star 118 W. Ninth St. Auburn, IN 46706 Auburn: (260) 925-2611 Fax: (260) 925-2625 Classifieds: (toll free) (877) 791-7877 Circulation: (toll free) (800) 717-4679
Index •
Classified.............................................. D5-D6 Life................................................................ C1 Obituaries.....................................................A4 Opinion .........................................................A6 Business ............................................... B7-B8 Sports.................................................... B1-B6 Weather.......................................................B8 Vol. 101 No. 206
Interactive Pianos on the Square opens Friday BY KATHRYN BASSETT kbassett@kpcmedia.com
AUBURN — The Pianos on the Square interactive outdoor family event will kick off Friday with a garden party from 4-7 p.m. on the lawn of the DeKalb County Courthouse in Auburn. The Auburn Arts Commission Inc. is collaborating with Trine University and Eckhart Public Library to present the free, interactive, outdoor family friendly event featuring decorated pianos located all over Auburn. “The pianos are meant to be played, by everyone and anyone at any time, 24 hours a day,” said event chairman Priscilla Creaven. “Enjoy free outdoor concerts and recitals by talented pianists and musicians aged 6 to 90. Music ranges from classical to jazz to country.”
Pianos also will be placed in Garrett, Butler and Waterloo, where additional events will be held. All events are free and open to the public. The garden party will feature a chalk walk on Cedar Street, a garden party hat contest, piano music from Carol Foley, Julie Western and Sydney Hefty and refreshments. “We just want people to mix and mingle and try the pianos that are downtown,” Creaven said. Musical performances will take place on weekends through Sept. 15. On Sunday, Aug. 4, local musician Dallas Fike will play. Born into a musical family and raised in rural DeKalb County, Fike mastered the piano at a very young age, opening the door to a successful music career. SEE PIANOS, PAGE A8
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
An unidentified woman plays a piano outside the Waterloo Public Library as part of Pianos on the Square. The interactive, outdoor family event officially kicks off Friday with a garden party on the DeKalb County Courthouse Lawn. Decorated pianos will be placed all over Auburn and in Garrett, Butler and Waterloo.